The Reckoning
"SO MUCH FOR YOUR MISGUIDED CRIES FOR 'FREEDOM'! YOUR MEN COMPROMISED THE DEFENSE OF AN ENTIRE SECTOR AND FORCED THE IMPERIUM TO DIVERT VALUABLE RESOURCES! YOU BETRAYED THE GREY KNIGHTS WHILE IMPEDING THEIR SACRED CHARGE, AND NOW YOU DEFY THE WILL OF THE EMPEROR HIMSELF!" '' ''"YOU SPEAK FOR THE EMPEROR AS MUCH AS THE LOWLIEST IMPERIAL CITIZEN! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT HUMANITY FROM CHAOS, AND YOU USURPED THEIR POSITION AS HUMANITY'S GREATEST TORMENTOR INSTEAD! I REALIZED TOO LATE '''YOU '''WERE THE ENEMY AND A PERVERSION OF THE EMPEROR'S WISHES!" -An exchange between Executive Davidius Clarkeson and Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor Markius Zucken, before the two men fight to the death. Background The Final Siege of Battlement (Date Unknown.M42) - Tzeentch sends a demonic invasion force to Battlement in order to provoke the arrival of the Grey Knights, who will surely purge the world’s population to prevent the spread of chaos. The source of the invasion comes from the Word Bearers in Death Alley, who summon these demons through mass rituals. Combined raids by the Emperor’s Liberators and Agents of Liberty arrive too late, and an entire demonic army is summoned. These demons are stopped 100 miles short of The Hexagon and Albus Domus at great cost, but the real damage has yet to be done. The advance was only stopped with the timely arrival of 150 Grey Knights. The forces of Chaos were annihilated from Battlement. The Grey Knights, in their usual fashion begin purges of the cities and general population of Battlement. Executive Davidius Clarkeson, who was completely unaware of the Grey Knights and their M.O. until now, fires on the Grey Knights and orders his Fireteam to eliminate the presence of the Grey Knights. The two chapters are locked in brutal warfare for months, with the outnumbered Knights inflicting brutal casualties before being forced to withdraw. 240 Liberators were killed at a cost of 90 Knights. ' '''The Reckoning At about the same time, Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor Markius Zucken sent a strike force of Stormtroopers and Sisters of Battle to the planet to bring the Emperor’s Liberators to heel and purge the planet of heresy. Originally, he had misgivings of the chapter’s holy relic texts. However, a demon of Tzeentch managed to possess him just enough to influence and exaggerate his conscience. It wasn’t enough to control him, just bring him over the edge. Zucken’s existing biases in addition to the demon’s subtle manipulations led him to believe the Liberators were planning to secede or commit an act of treason against the Imperium, requiring immediate intervention. He had also just received a report from the Grey Knights of the Emperor’s Liberators’ ‘treachery’. His strike force consisted of an Imperial Navy fleet with a 3 regiments of the Scintillian Fusiliers (50,000 total), an order of the Bloody Rose (4000), and 1,100 Space Marines from the Red Hunters, Murdering Sons, Imperius Ravagers and Sable Lions. They smash through the Albus Domus and The Hexagon in massed drop pod assaults and aerial insertions, since the only people near those buildings are the less-numerous, equipped, and trained Agents of Liberty. Hearing of the crisis, 470 Liberators speed back to the HQ buildings in a frantic attempt to gauge the situation. They split their forces as they garrison both buildings, and demand an explanation with the Inquisitor over a vox-cast. ' 'Ultimatum He demands that the chapter go on a 100 year penitent crusade, and forsake the values of 984 .M2, Celsius 232.778, and Independence: 776. M2 for Inquisition and Ecclesiarchy-approved replacements. This offer was at first falsely entertained, with Davidius Clarkeson attempting negotiations for an hour. This was to buy time to fortify both buildings. At last, the offer was angrily refused, punctuated by vile curses. Enraged at this perceived treachery, the Markius Zucken order his forces to ransack the HQ buildings, burn them to the ground, and then the planet. After a brief bombardment, the enemy forced their way inside, greeted by machine gun fire and booby traps in every hallway. ' 'Clash of Wills Clarkeson sent a desperate vox-message to Executives Alexis Jonesson and Tedium Nugentus of the current situation. Their 1300 marines would surely turn the tide, but only if they could arrive in time. It would take 2 weeks, time the defenders might not have. Davidius Clarkeson had to make it work, and had every soldier under his command hunker down and prepare for the worst. The Inquisitor’s forces poured into both buildings with pure fury in their veins, killing and burning everything in the way. With their backs to the walls, the Agents and Liberators fought back with all their might. Blood and gore would fill the hallways and stain the walls. Burning metal was strewn everywhere. A week into the siege, The Hexagon falls. Only 10 Liberators and 200 Agents escape and flee to the Albus Domus. The dead defenders are hung up on the walls and nailed to them, with their blood being used to paint intimidating messages. ' 'Half of the Terminators from the attacking chapter and elite Sisters of Battle lead the final push against Davidius Clarkeson’s pocked of resistance in the ‘Library of Liberty’, which held the books the Inquisitor deemed heretical. The other half pushed towards the plasma generators. These were the only two buildings left in the Albus Domus still out of the Inquisitor’s hands, and there were only 160 Liberators and 500 Agents left to defend them against 600 astartes, 2500 Sisters, and 30,000 Guardsmen. Inquisitor Zuckius personally lead the assault against the library, where Executive Clarkeson was sure to be defending. Indeed. Clarkeson alone kept the defence alive with his mastery of his jump pack and powerfist. The plasma generators were fiercely defended as well, with the narrow corridors proving to be horrifying killzones with booby traps. The force, made up of the bulk of the Imperial Guard and with a smaller concentration of astartes and Sisters, got bogged down after taking over the first generator. ' 'After fighting against numerous Terminator-armored foes and zealous Sisters who challenged and cursed Clarkeson, Zuckius challenged a worn-down Clarkeson to single combat. Follpwing a brief exchange of words, the two fought tooth and nail. Everything was at stake. Well placed blows from their respective weapons inflicted grievous wounds. Out in space, Alexis Jonesson and Tedium Nugentus emerged from the warp with the entire chapter fleet and quickly broke the Inquisitor’s blockade through daring boarding actions and lightning strikes. Prisoners were taken and held for the duration of the conflict by the serfs, and the remaining Liberators and Agents poured onto the surface via drop pod or Thunderhawk directly to The Hexagon and Albus Domus. It took 12 hours to retake The Hexagon, and the combined 1300 marines and 30,000 Agents streamed in on the flanks of the Inquisitor’s forces. ' 'Reinforcements Davidius Clarkeson was critically injured, but managed to get a blow in with his powerfist that tore away the Inquisitor’s face and revealed a demon had possessed him, much to the shock of his allies still fighting the Liberators and Agents. The Inquisitor easily shook off his injuries and moved to finish off Clarkeson, who was tired and on the defensive. But he lived long enough for Jonesson and Ronald Raegus to arrive with precious reinforcements and work with Clarkeson to take down the demon-possessed Inquisitor after breaking through the Inquisitor’s forces. After a fierce battle that lasts for an hour, the demon is finally banished and leaves a charred husk that was once the Inquisitor. With their leader dead and the enemy closing on all sides, the Inquisitorial force flees Battlement. Out of the 1100 astartes, 4000 Sisters of Battle, and 50,000 Guardsmen, only 43% of them escape with their lives and gene-seed. The Emperor’s Liberators let them escape with what’s left of their fleet, not wanting to make the situation even worse. Only 700 Liberators and 40,000 Agents of Liberty survived the assault. ' ''' It would be the least of the chapter’s problems...